Dude, Where’s My Parking Requirement? Chicago Says You Don’t Need One

Executive Summary

On July 16, 2025, Chicago City Council passed a landmark ordinance (O2025-0015577) that dramatically expands areas where residential developments can proceed without parking mandates. This map visualizes the new landscape of parking-free development zones across the city.

Key Changes: - Properties within CTA-served areas (outside downtown) can now build without parking - Two exceptions remain: Metra-only areas and downtown zoning districts still require Administrative Adjustments

Methodology Caveat: The Metra station buffers shown in this analysis are calculated from GTFS station centerpoints, not from actual station entrances/exits. In practice, the 2,640-foot radius should be measured from platform access points, which may result in slightly different coverage areas than shown here.

Dear Reader: If this kind of policy excites you, please consider becoming a member of Abundant Housing Illinois, which will get you access to the YIMBY Action Slack where over 400 members discuss and organize for housing abundance.

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Interactive Map

# Create interactive map
parking_map <- leaflet() %>%
  # Base map
  addProviderTiles(providers$CartoDB.Positron) %>%
  
  # Zone polygons
  addPolygons(
    data = cta_no_parking_wgs,
    fillColor = "#6B46C1", 
    fillOpacity = 0.35, 
    color = "#6B46C1", 
    weight = 1,
    group = "No Parking Requirements",
    popup = "No parking requirements - build freely!"
  ) %>%
  
  addPolygons(
    data = metra_only_wgs, 
    fillColor = "#F97316", 
    fillOpacity = 0.45, 
    color = "#EA580C", 
    weight = 2,
    group = "Admin Adjustment Required (Metra-only)",
    popup = "Administrative Adjustment required for parking reduction"
  ) %>%
  
  addPolygons(
    data = downtown_wgs, 
    fillColor = "#000000", 
    fillOpacity = 0.15, 
    color = "#000000", 
    weight = 0.7,
    group = "Downtown Carve-out (D-districts)",
    popup = "Downtown district - parking requirements remain"
  ) %>%
  
  # Transit stations
  addCircleMarkers(
    data = cta_rail_sf, 
    radius = 3, 
    color = "#0078D4", 
    fillOpacity = 0.9, 
    group = "CTA Rail Stations",
    popup = ~paste0("<b>", stop_name, "</b><br>CTA Rail")
  ) %>%
  
  addCircleMarkers(
    data = metra_sf, 
    radius = 3, 
    color = "#E31837", 
    fillOpacity = 0.9, 
    group = "Metra Stations",
    popup = ~paste0("<b>", stop_name, "</b><br>Metra")
  ) %>%
  
  # Reference boundaries (added last to be on top)
  addPolylines(
    data = community_areas,
    color = "#999999",
    weight = 0.5,
    opacity = 0.5,
    fill = FALSE
  ) %>%
  
  addPolylines(
    data = city_boundary_wgs,
    color = "#666666",
    weight = 1,
    opacity = 0.7,
    fill = FALSE
  ) %>%
  
  # Layer controls
  addLayersControl(
    overlayGroups = c("No Parking Requirements", 
                     "Admin Adjustment Required (Metra-only)",
                     "Downtown Carve-out (D-districts)", 
                     "CTA Rail Stations", 
                     "Metra Stations"),
    options = layersControlOptions(collapsed = FALSE)
  ) %>%
  
  # Legend
  addLegend(
    position = "bottomright",
    colors = c("#6B46C1", "#F97316", "#000000"),
    labels = c("No Parking Requirements", 
               "Admin Adjustment Required", 
               "Downtown Carve-out"),
    title = "Parking Elimination Zones",
    opacity = 0.7
  ) %>%
  
  # Hide all groups except the main one
  hideGroup("Admin Adjustment Required (Metra-only)") %>%
  hideGroup("Downtown Carve-out (D-districts)") %>%
  hideGroup("CTA Rail Stations") %>%
  hideGroup("Metra Stations") %>%
  
  # Set initial view
  setView(lng = -87.6298, lat = 41.8781, zoom = 11)

# Display map
parking_map

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Key Findings

The new ordinance represents a major shift in Chicago’s approach to parking requirements:

• 165.2 square miles (70.6% of the city) are now considered transit-served
• 150.6 square miles (64.4% of the city) can build residential developments without any parking
• 12.2 square miles (5.2% of the city) require an Administrative Adjustment to reduce parking

This means that approximately 64.4% of Chicago is now free from residential parking mandates, enabling more affordable and sustainable development near transit.

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Data Sources

• Transit Data:
  • CTA GTFS Feed
  • Metra GTFS Feed
• Geographic Boundaries:
  • Zoning Districts
  • City Boundary
  • TSL Route Boundaries (bus corridors)
• Ordinance: O2025-0015577 (Sponsored by Ald. Daniel La Spata, Ald. Andre Vasquez, Ald. Bennett Lawson)

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Additional Resources

• Chicago Cityscape article on the ordinance
• Chicago Municipal Code - Transit Supportive Bus Line Corridors
• Department of Planning and Development for official guidance
• Connected Communities Ordinance background

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Questions or feedback? This analysis is open source. Contributions and corrections are welcome on Github.